Monday, February 9, 2015

Everyone in Colorado from Republicans to marijuana moguls
wants to stop welfare cash from being used to buy recreational pot, but
standing in their way are the state’s formidable legislative Democrats.
Despite mounting evidence that “welfare for weed” is more than an
urban myth, Democratic legislators are balking at a bill that would add
marijuana dispensaries and strip clubs to the list of places, along with
casinos and liquor stores, where debit-style benefits cards cannot be
used to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines, or ATMs.
Democrats killed a similar bill last year, but now the stakes are
higher. States had two years to align their statutes with a 2012 federal
law banning the use of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards at
gambling and adult-entertainment venues.
As of this year, states that fail to take action risk having their
federal grants under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program
reduced by 5 percent.